Austin Powers in Goldmember - Nokia 6700 classic Gold Edition

The Nokia 6700 classic is a very classy device and we loved it. But then came the rambling designer that gold plates everything and classiness went out the window. Introducing the Nokia 6700 classic Gold Edition, covered in 18-carat gold and Nokia 8800 Gold Arte turned green with envy.

The Nokia 6700 classic Gold Edition (catchy name, isn't it?) comes in two color variants - one with white on the front and back and another that is gold-color all over (not everything is gold plated though).

Nokia 6700 classic White Gold Edition inlays sort of looks good

The good news is that on the inside, little has changed. You still get one of the best 5MP cameras on the market, fast 3G connectivity and built-in GPS. The Nokia 6700 classic Gold Edition runs good ol' S40 and surprisingly has the exact same dimensions and weight - 109.8 x 45 x 11.2 mm and 116.5 g.

To improve the bang-for-the-buck ratio, Nokia are also throwing in a leather carrying case, a strap and an 8GB microSD card. Nokia Maps gets a 30-day navigation license and that's it. There's no desk stand and headset is a wired one, unlike the Nokia 8800 Gold Arte, which came with a Bluetooth one. Still, the Nokia 6700 classic Gold Edition offers better specs than the Gold Arte, even if it doesn't have any leather trim.

The all-gold version is quite tacky

Now for the issue of price - the Nokia 6700 classic Gold Edition is expected to hit the shelves in the first quarter of 2010 for the modest price of 370 euro (545 US dollars) before taxes and subsidies. Modest for a gold plated phone that is.

If you find yourself interested, check out our review of Nokia 6700 classic - the software is the same (save for the gold theme) and the hardware should live up to the high standards set by the non-gold edition.